UNDER THE NET

A light and gay, for the most part, English novel of what Jake Donaghue goes through before he finds a new place to live when Madge kicks him our- along with his friend Finn- for the sake of Sacred Sammy Starfield, fabulous bookie and spiv. Jake and Finn first turn to Dave, a philosopher friend; then Jake goes on to Anna, an old flame whom he possibly really loves; and Anna hands him on to her sister, Sadie, a serpentine film actress who probably loves him, and from whom he escapes. He also runs into an Independent Socialist leader, and finally, Hugo Belfounder, a sort of "natural" man. The adventures are very funny indeed, but the philosophical implications are less so. It is one of those novels in which a lot more is meant to have been said than actually ever is. In spite of this, there are many hilarious scenes during many fantastic escapades- when Sammy and Jake spend an afternoon playing the horses, or when Jake and Finn steal an acting dog — and there is always a nice sense of place- in varying sectors of London and Paris. In other words, take the fun and let the moral go.